The latest information and trends for the foodservice professional

Central’s Week in Brief: July 22

Every Friday Central brings you stories from the week that you might have missed, but that are definitely worth a look. We feature food news covering everything from the weird to the wonderful in the world of restaurants, schools, the military and more. It’s our way to help you go into the weekend with a little extra knowledge and maybe even a project or recipe to try out!

This week the unbearable heat might be on your mind. So we’re going to take that off your mind for a few minutes and inform you of all things healthy going on in the restaurant industry!

1. The Kids LiveWell program recently rolled out, which is a program that launched with the National Restaurant Association with a goal of providing healthier menu items for children when dining out. Currently there are over 15,000 restaurants on board. Items in the program will “meet qualifying nutritional criteria base on leading health organization’s scientific recommendations, including the 2010 USDA Dietary Guidelines,” the National Restaurant Association said. For more information about the program including participating restaurants and nutritional criteria, visit the National Restaurant Association’s link.

3. This Huffington Post article, about healthier items in vending machines, said “studies have consistently shown that when people eat healthy food, they increase productivity at work and get better test performance in students while cutting the amount they cost the health care system.” It seems that more and more institutions are now implementing healthier items and give customers a chance to have real food, conveniently.

4. Is your breakfast lacking in nutrition or do you find it more convenient to get something to eat on the way into work? Don’t forget there are restaurant who serve healthy menu items. Check out these 11 healthy fast-food breakfasts from the Delish website.

5. Are you finding your restaurant struggling to keep up with the latest in healthy eating? Get a pencil and paper when pulling up this article from NBC Chicago’s Inc. Well. They feature Chicago’s Uncommon Ground, who is the first restaurant in the United States to have a certified organic rooftop farm. Then moving onto another restaurant, Sarah McKinnon, owner of Timothy O’Toole’s Pub, told them everything they serve is made in house.

About Tracey Allen

Tracey Rector is a Content Specialist for Central Restaurant Products, a food service equipment and supply distributor in Indianapolis. She writes for Central's catalog, website and blog and provides latest foodservice information on Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest and Google+. Each year, Tracey attends the National Restaurant Association Show. She has also attended Vollrath University, Vulcan University and Social Media Examiner's Social Media and Blogging Success Summits.